Thousands Flee As Fire Devours Homes

Hernandez also said Friday afternoon that 25 homes had been damaged or destroyed.

Hernandez says some areas are still seeing active flames. But
firefighters have largely contained the blaze that sent nearly 10,000
people from their homes in the middle of the night.

Intermittent snowfall in the area is helping put out the fire that started just after 12:30 Thursday night.

Roughly 100 Nevada National Guard members were assisting local law
enforcement in checking homes and keeping people out of the evacuated
area.

Up to 2,000 acres were touched by the fire.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A cloud of grayish-white smoke settled over upscale homes and horse
pastures on the edge of Reno on Friday as firefighters from across
Nevada came close to taming a sudden wildfire that sent 16 people to
area hospitals for treatment, many for smoke inhalation, and destroyed
at least 20 houses.

Authorities said the worst was likely over, but warned a change in
the furious northern winds could refuel the sprawling fire that sent
thousands of families fleeing from their homes in the middle of the
night and blanketed the region's mountain roads in amber flames. A
74-year-old man died of a heart attack while trying to leave his home.

Health officials urged residents to stay inside and reduce physical
activity, warning that the dust and smoke were adding to pollution
levels in the affected regions and downwind neighborhoods.

Growing snow flurries late Friday afternoon stroked hopes that the remaining showers of ember and ash would die down quickly.

At least 400 firefighters from as far as 260 miles away flocked to
Reno early Friday as multiple fires roared from the Sierra Nevada
foothills in northwestern Nevada and spread to the valley floor. Police
went house-to-house, pounding on doors and urging residents to evacuate
in the dark of the night.

"The whole mountain was on fire," said Dick Hecht, who said when he
escaped from his home with his wife, it was so windy he could barely
stand. "It was so smoky, you couldn't hardly see."

The couple tried to return to their home before morning, but they
were turned back by high winds and erupting flames. As they made their
way back down the mountain roads, flames burned less than 40 yards from
their vehicle.

Gusts of up to 60 mph grounded firefighter helicopters and made it
difficult for firefighters to approach Caughlin Ranch, the affluent
subdivision bordering pine-forested hills where the fire likely began
after 12:30 a.m.

The strong winds combined with area's dry terrain helped the fire
spread from 400 acres to 2,000, or more than 3 square miles.
Firefighters said their efforts spared 4,000 homes, but that the
disaster would likely cost multi-millions of dollars.

The cause of the blaze isn't known, but a downed power line or
homeless encampments in the area might be to blame, said Fire Chief Mike
Hernandez.

In all, nearly 10,000 people were sent from their homes into the
spreading heat. The wind gusts were comparable to the Santa Ana winds
that often aggravate and spread wildfires in the hills surrounding Los
Angeles, officials said.

"The wind is horrific," said Reno spokeswoman Michele Anderson. "We just watched a semi nearly blow over on the freeway."

John and Maggie Givlin were among those watching a television at the
shelter at Reno High School Friday morning, scanning the screen for
details on whether the home they left behind was safe. They already were
preparing to flee when a police officer knocked on their door at about
1:30 a.m.

"I smelled smoke and got out of bed and the electricity was out,"
said John Givlin, a retired civil engineer who has lived there about
eight years. "I looked out the front window and saw the glow over the
hill before us."

He and his wife made their way out of their home with a flashlight. Outside, flames billowed in every direction.

More than 150 people had filled two shelters set up at area high schools by midmorning.

"The people are in a state of shock and are hanging in there," Gov. Brian Sandoval said.

More than 4,000 NV Energy customers lost power as poles and
electrical wires were scorched and knocked down, said spokeswoman Faye
Andersen. Utility workers were not being allowed into the fire area.

Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said evacuees could start returning to their
homes at noon Saturday. Cashell said a number of local hotel-casinos
were offering discounted rooms to displaced residents.

"These next 24 hours, with all the power lines down and everything else, it is still a very, very dangerous area," he said.

School buses were on standby to help with evacuations. At least 90
schools were closed for the day to clear the roads of school traffic and
make way for emergency workers.

The U.S. Postal Service suspended delivery to the area for the day
and the state high school athletic association moved its football
playoffs from Friday night to Monday.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...